Podcast 72 – Mastering Procurement for Project Managers

About This Podcast:

In this podcast procurement guru William Pegg, Founder and Director at Synthesis Group provides an in-depth insight into how project managers can leverage value from suppliers and ultimately bring real value to organisations.

William has procurement industry experience across FMCG, agribusiness, heavy industry, health care, oil and gas and government agencies.

Points raised in this podcast:

Set expectations – suppliers should know the limits and what is acceptable and what is not. Consider a reward base contractual basis, this may restore.

Adopt the premise of ‘what can I do for them’ – ensure you reconnect the supply chain so that everyone feels valued. Think about what you can do for them so you can get the best performance results.

Position your business as a customer of choice – get access to innovation, best pricing, preeminent team members. If you get these features, your business will be more successful.

De-commoditize the transaction – start understanding what value adds the supplier can bring to the party.

Practice humility during the procurement process – just because you are buying something doesn’t mean you have more authority.

Get stakeholder and supplier engagement early – involve all parties from the beginning so you can practice ‘elastic support’.

Get suppliers on board – find a carrot and pin point the opportunities for medium term engagement.

Take the time to understand what the stakeholders want – what are their values – whether they are savings, innovation, technology be sure to structure agreements that deliver what your stakeholders hold valuable for the project. All of a sudden both the buyer and the manager are working together.

Be open and transparent with your suppliers – communicate with your suppliers and be honest about why their capabilities fit your needs.

Allow suppliers to work collaboratively with your stakeholders – all suppliers to interact with your business so they can see a future with your business.

Try and strive for the elasticity relationship – it’s not always about money when you want suppliers to deliver a better service to you.